PCB clears Pakistan to play UAE; says Pycroft apologised

The ICC has retained former Zimbabwe batter Andy Pycroft as the match referee for Pakistan's must-win fixture against UAE in the Asia Cup on Wednesday. It did so despite the PCB's insistence on having him removed, an insistence which eventually delayed the start of the game by an hour; there had been worries through the day that Pakistan may pull out of the game and tournament altogether. The match eventually began, the PCB claiming Pycroft apologised for the "miscommunication" in the India-Pakistan game on Sunday that led to the handshake controversy.

The PCB issued the apology statement minutes before the delayed toss at 7pm local time, though by then it had been confirmed that the game was going ahead.

"Andy Pycroft had barred the captains of India and Pakistan from shaking hands during their match," the statement said. "The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft's actions. Andy Pycroft termed the September 14 incident a result of miscommunication and apologised. The ICC has expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation that occurred during the September 14 match."

Once the match between Pakistan and UAE had begun, the PCB and ACC head Mohsin Naqvi held a press conference where he said there had been a "crisis" following the India-Pakistan match on September 14. "We requested the ICC to do an inquiry on the code of conduct violations on 14th September," he said. "Politics and cricket shouldn't be mixed. Leave cricket as a sport."

It brought to an end days of uncertainty during which Pakistan cancelled their pre-game press conference on Tuesday, though the subsequent training session went ahead as planned. Later that evening, around midnight, the PCB issued a statement that said "consultations were underway" regarding Pakistan's participation in the Asia Cup as the fallout from the handshake controversy after their loss to India continued. The board said a decision would be taken keeping the "interest of Pakistan" in mind.

On Wednesday, there was fevered speculation of what the PCB might do ahead of the game against UAE. The first signs of trouble came in the afternoon, when the Pakistan players were told to stay at their hotel beyond their scheduled departure at 4.30 pm local time. At the same time came news that Naqvi would announce a decision in a press conference in Lahore. Soon it emerged that Naqvi had invited former PCB heads Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi to Gaddafi Stadium to discuss the situation. The PCB did not expand on what decision they reached but Naqvi eventually announced at 5.45 pm local time that the Pakistan team had been told to leave for the venue. They arrived just before 6.30 pm, with the toss scheduled for 7pm and the start for 7.30 pm.

The PCB had blamed Pycroft following the conclusion of Sunday's clash between India and Pakistan, during which the Indian players refused to shake hands with the Pakistanis at the toss and at the end of the game. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha skipped the post-match presentation in protest, though the coach Mike Hesson did appear at the post-game press conference.

The PCB claimed Pycroft had told Agha that there would be no handshakes at the toss, which it argued in its complaint was in breach not only of the Spirit of Cricket but also of the ICC's code of conduct regulations. In the complaint to the ICC general manager Wasim Khan, the PCB insisted that he be removed from the remaining Asia Cup fixtures. ESPNcricinfo understands the ICC rejected that request and conveyed it to the board the following day, though discussions between them and the PCB continued.

Soon after they put out the statement claiming Pycroft had apologised, the PCB also released a video of the meeting in which Pakistan's manager Naveed Akram Cheema, captain Agha and coach Hesson are seen talking to Pycroft, with the ICC's Wasim Khan also in attendance.